Golf Talk Live - Jesper Parnevik Transcript Segment 3

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LET'S FIND OUT THE QUESTION THAT WAS POSTED TO OUR WEB SITE FOR YOU TODAY, JESPER. AT THE NISSAN OPEN THIS YEAR, WHAT WERE YOU FEELING ON THE FINAL DAY ON THE 18TH HOLE WHEN YOU WERE ABOUT TO MAKE THAT AMAZING PUTT?

HOW DID YOU CALM YOURSELF FOR A HUGE PUTT LIKE THAT? THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION JUDE.

JESPER PARNEVIK

UH, I MEAN, YOU DON'T REALLY WANT TO CALM YOURSELF BECAUSE UH WHEN YOU'RE RIGHT THERE, YOUR ADRENALINE IS FLOWING SO HARD, I MEAN, AND YOUR HEART IS PUMPING.

BUT IF - AS LONG AS YOU CAN TAKE ALL THAT NERVOUSNESS OR ENERGY AND, YOU KNOW, PUT IT TOWARDS THE PUTT, I THINK IT REALLY MAKES YOU FOCUS EVEN MORE.

AND SO YOU DON'T REALLY WANT TO CALM YOURSELF DOWN. YOU JUST WANT TO HAVE A REALLY GOOD SELF-TALK RIGHT NOW AND JUST MAKE YOURSELF THINK 'THIS IS GOING IN. THIS IS GOING IN.' THAT'S ALWAYS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND.

AND BECAUSE THIS GREEN IS SO HARD TO READ ANYWAY SO, I MEAN, IT'S PRETTY MUCH IMPOSSIBLE TO HOLE A PUTT FROM ANYWHERE.

PETER KESSLER

THAT'S WHAT KIRK TRIPLETT WAS HOPING.

JESPER PARNEVIK

SO I MEAN, I WAS JUST UM ...HELL, IT'S AN AMAZING FEELING. ANYTIME YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT ON THE 18TH HOLE, IT'S VERY SPECIAL.

AND UH, BUT KIRK, I'D HAVE TO SAY HE LOOKED SO CALM ALL DAY. I MEAN, I WAS VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE WAY HE HANDLES IT ON THE GOLF COURSE. EVEN WHEN I - WHEN I HOLED THAT PUTT, HE CAME OVER TO ME, KIND OF TAPPED ME ON THE BACK AND SAID,

'WELL, GOOD PUTT, JESPER.' AND THEN HE STEPPED UP AND KNOCKED IT RIGHT IN, WHICH IS AN AMAZING THING TO DO BECAUSE HIS PUTT WAS REALLY, REALLY TOUGH. I MEAN, HE HAD 6 FEET, STRAIGHT DOWN THE HILL.

AND IF HE MISSED THAT, HE DIDN'T ... IT SEEMS LIKE HE DIDN'T THINK ABOUT IT, BUT IT GOES 6 FEET BY, NO PROBLEM. AND UH, IT WAS VERY STRONG, I HAVE TO SAY.

PETER KESSLER

I KNOW THAT THEY DON'T MAKE THOSE PANTS IN 'MEDIUM DUMPY' WHICH IS MY SIZE.

JESPER PARNEVIK

OH, I'LL GET A PAIR FOR YOU.

PETER KESSLER

DO THEY MAKE THEM IN YOUR BUDDY DARREN CLARKE'S SIZE OR DO YOU STITCH TWO PAIR TOGETHER TO FIT HIM?

JESPER PARNEVIK

(LAUGH) THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. I HAVE TO CHECK THAT. BUT I'M SURE WE CAN GET SOMETHING FOR DARREN.

PETER KESSLER

WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT HIS BEATING TIGER IN THE FINALS OF THE MATCH PLAY?

JESPER PARNEVIK

OH, I MEAN I'LL ... YOU KNOW, I KNOW - I KNOW DARREN FROM EUROPE. I'VE PLAYED A LOT OF GOLF WITH HIM. MAYBE NOT ALL THE AMERICANS AROUND HERE, YOU KNOW, HAVE SEEN HIM PLAY THAT MUCH.

BUT HE'S A GREAT, GREAT PLAYER. I MEAN, HE'S PROBABLY THE CLOSEST CHALLENGER WITH LEE WESTWOOD TOO, BEAT, YOU KNOW, UH COLIN MONTGOMERIE OVER THERE IN EUROPE,

UH, EVEN THOUGH MONTY HAS WON 7 YEARS IN A ROW NOW WHICH IS UNBELIEVABLY IMPRESSIVE. BUT DARREN IS A GREAT PLAYER.

SO I NEVER HAD ANY DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT HE COULD DO IT. IT WAS A CASE OF HOW GOOD COULD TIGER PLAY. BECAUSE WHEN TIGER PLAYS WELL, HE'S HARD TO BEAT.

PETER KESSLER

DARREN LOOKED LIKE HE JUST WANTED TO TAKE A NAP A COUPLE TIMES AND THAT HIS BIGGEST FEAR WAS THAT HE WASN'T GONNA BE ABLE TO WALK ALL OF THE HOLES. TYPICAL DARREN?

JESPER PARNEVIK

WELL ... UH YEAH. AND UH, THAT WAS EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE THAT HE DID IT IN 36 HOLES. I MEAN, OVER 18 HOLES, LIKE WE TALKED ABOUT ALL LAST WEEK, I MEAN, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN.

I MEAN, IF YOU TAKE THE TOP 64 GUYS IN THE WORLD, PRETTY MUCH ANYONE CAN BEAT ANYONE ON ANY GIVEN DAY. BUT TO DO IT OVER 36 HOLES AGAINST TIGER, WHEN YOU KNOW HOW TIGER CAN COME BACK FROM ...

ANY - ANY... YOU KNOW, WHEN HE'S BEHIND HE CAN COME BACK FROM ANY PLACE, AND STILL BEAT HIM WAS VERY IMPRESSIVE.

PETER KESSLER

ALMOST A HUNDRED YEARS AGO, BERNARD DARWIN SORT OF INVENTED GOLF JOURNALISM.

JESPER PARNEVIK

UH-HUH.

PETER KESSLER

AND IN TALKING ABOUT THE 3 GREAT PLAYERS OF A HUNDRED YEARS AGO, VARDON, TAYLOR AND BRAID, ...

JESPER PARNEVIK

UH-HUH.

PETER KESSLER

HE WROTE THE FOLLOWING: 'THERE'S A NATURAL LAW IN GAMES BY WHICH PERIODICALLY A GENIUS ARISES AND SETS THE STANDARD OF ACHIEVEMENT PERCEPTIBLY HIGHER THAN EVER BEFORE.

HE FORCES THE PACE. THE REST HAVE TO FOLLOW AS BEST THEY CAN AND END UP BY SQUEEZING OUT OF THEMSELVES JUST A YARD OR TWO MORE THAN THEY WOULD HAVE BELIEVED POSSIBLE.'

IS TIGER THAT GENIUS WHO HAS COME ALONG, DO YOU THINK?

JESPER PARNEVIK

YEAH, I WOULDN'T SAY A YARD OR TWO THOUGH. IT'S MORE LIKE 30 YARDS. (LAUGH)

PETER KESSLER

I FIGURED THAT PART.

JESPER PARNEVIK

BUT HE DEFINITELY - I MEAN UH, I PLAYED A LOT OF GOLF WITH HIM LAST YEAR, UH ESPECIALLY IN THE SUMMERTIME. AND I - YOU COULD TELL THAT SOMETHING WAS ABOUT TO CHANGE BECAUSE HE PLAYED SO WELL,

YOU KNOW, IT WAS NOT LIKE HE HOLED A LOT OF PUTTS, HE GOT LUCKY OR, YOU KNOW, HE GOT ON A ROLL OR WHATEVER. IT'S JUST THAT EVERY SHOT WAS PERFECT.

AND WHEN YOU DO THAT FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME, YOU'RE GONNA WIN A LOT OF TOURNAMENTS. AND UM, YOU KNOW, AS I TOLD YOU PROBABLY ...

I DON'T KNOW IF I TOLD YOU LAST TIME I WAS ON THE SHOW, WHEN I PLAYED WITH HIM THE FIRST TIME ...

PETER KESSLER

YOU DID TELL US.

JESPER PARNEVIK

I DIDN'T - WAS NOT VERY IMPRESSED WITH HIM AT ALL. I MEAN, I THOUGHT HE - THIS GUY IS GONNA STRUGGLE. HE HAS NOTHING TO DO ON THE PGA TOUR. AND THEN HE COMES OUT AND DOES UNBELIEVABLY WELL.

AND HE DEFINITELY HAS RAISED THE BAR FOR EVERYONE ELSE NOW BECAUSE IF YOU GO ON TOUR NOW, YOU CAN SEE MORE AND MORE GUYS ARE WORKING OUT. THE FITNESS TRAILER IS PRETTY MUCH BUSY 24 - 24 HOURS A DAY.

AND UH, GUYS ARE GETTING STRONGER BECAUSE IT'S HARD TO KEEP UP WITH A GUY THAT HITS IT 30, 40 YARDS PAST YOU ALL THE TIME AND HITS 3, 4 CLUBS LESS THAN YOU'RE DOING TO EVERY GREEN.

AND BEING AS STRAIGHT AS HE IS, YOU KNOW, IT'S PRETTY AMAZING. BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, I - I SAW YOUR GOLF UH VIEWERS FORUM YESTERDAY, WHERE YOU TALKED ABOUT IF GUYS WERE SCARED OF HIM IN THE HEAT OF THE BATTLE AND SO ON.

I DON'T THINK THEY ARE SCARED OF TIGER HIMSELF THAT MUCH. IT'S JUST THAT HIS GAME IS VERY IMPRESSIVE. I MEAN, HE'S SO TALENTED THAT ... YOU CAN ALWAYS COME UP TO GUYS ...

I WILL SEE GUYS THAT CAN HIT THE 1-IRON, YOU KNOW, 250 IN THE AIR, COME DOWN VERY SOFTLY AND THAT'S HIS SHOT, YOU KNOW. AND YOU THINK, 'WELL, I HAVE A TOUGH TIME HITTING THAT SHOT.'

NOW YOU GIVE ME ANOTHER GUY WHO CAN KNOCK IT 300 YARDS DOWN THE MIDDLE. AND YOU SAY, 'WELL, THAT'S THIS GUY, YOU KNOW, HE CAN DO IT.' AND YOU'LL GET A GUY THAT CAN PUTT REAL WELL.

BUT TIGER DOES EVERYTHING SO WELL. THAT - I MEAN, THAT'S THE UNBELIEVABLE THING. I MEAN, EVERYBODY TALKS ABOUT HIS DRIVING AND SO ON, BUT THIS SHORT GAME IS REALLY GOOD.

I MEAN, IT'S PRETTY MUCH AS GOOD AS MICKELSON'S RIGHT NOW. YOU KNOW THAT FLOP SHOT MICKELSON HAS? TIGER HAS THE SAME SHOT.

PETER KESSLER

DARREN CLARKE WANTED ME TO TELL YOU THAT HE WAS TRYING TO GET INTO THE FITNESS TRAILER TOO, BUT IT WAS SO FULL THAT HE DECIDED TO GO HAVE A DRINK INSTEAD.

ALEX, CALLER FROM NORTH CAROLINA (MALE): UH, I KNOW YOU'RE PLAYING WELL SO FAR THIS YEAR AND YOU GOT TO BE THINKING ABOUT THE MAJORS. WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO TO PREPARE FOR THOSE THIS YEAR?

JESPER PARNEVIK

UH MAJORS, ALEX, I MEAN UM, OF COURSE, IT'S SOMETHING THAT I WANT TO PLAY WELL IN. I, AS YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN VERY CLOSE AT THE BRITISH OPEN UH, 3 OR 4 TIMES NOW.

SO YOU TRY TO GEAR UP BY BEING FRESH GOING INTO THE EVENT. I THINK THAT'S THE KEY POINT. I MEAN ESPECIALLY A PLACE LIKE AUGUSTA THAT CAN DRIVE YOU CRAZY,

BECAUSE UH, YOU KNOW, AS YOU - HAVE YOU SEEN THOSE GREENS THERE? THEY'RE VERY SLICK AND THEY CAN DRIVE YOU MAD. SO IF YOU GO IN THERE WITH A VERY, VERY FRESH MIND AND GOOD FOCUS, THAT'S ALWAYS GONNA HELP.

SO THAT'S THE WAY I TRY TO GEAR UP, JUST BEING VERY, VERY FULL OF ENERGY AND VERY, YOU KNOW, FOCUSED GOING INTO THE TOURNAMENT. THAT SEEMS TO HELP ME THE MOST.

PETER KESSLER

DON'T YOU HAVE TO WIN THE OPEN AT PEBBLE BEACH FOR YOUR DAUGHTER, PEBBLE PEACH?

JESPER PARNEVIK

THAT WOULD BE NICE. GOOD IDEA. I MEAN UH, THAT ONE AND THE BRITISH OPEN AT ST. ANDREWS, I WOULD NOT SAY 'NO' TO.

PETER KESSLER

I HAD A FEELING THAT WOULD BE THE CASE. WE'LL TAKE A LITTLE BREAK. AS WE LEAVE, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE ABSOLUTELY RIVETING STATISTICS OF THIS YEAR SO FAR OF JESPER PARNEVIK ON TOUR.